8.14.2012

Shepherdstown identified for pilot Entrepreneurs’ Cafe

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Shepherdstown is one of five communities in West Virginia identified by economic and community development group, Vision Shared, to pilot a program called the Entrepreneurs' Café. The program aims to provide micro-funding awards to entrepreneurs at the local level. The program is designed to replicate a successful micro-funding program in Huntington, W.Va. called Café Huntington.

Vision Shared will co-host a café launch event at The Station in Shepherdstown on Thursday, September 6, 2012 beginning at 6 p.m. During the event local entrepreneurs are invited to "pitch" their idea or project for funding. Attendees pay $10 for a meal, the opportunity to hear small business development ideas and vote on their favorite project. The winning entrepreneur receives the proceeds from the purchase of meals and a special cash award provided by Vision Shared for the launch event.

“The success of Café Huntington and its organizers willingness to help Vision Shared develop a pilot program spurs our ability to facilitate these programs around the state,” said Rebecca McPhail Randolph, President of Vision Shared. “We are very excited to introduce this concept in the Eastern Panhandle and underscore the fact that sometimes a little funding makes a big difference for an entrepreneur.”

The Entrepreneurs’ Café program is part of a long-term plan to develop the entrepreneurial climate in West Virginia by Vision Shared. In May 2012 the organization released a white paper with recommendations for encouraging economic growth and development through entrepreneurial education and activity. The white paper is available at www.visionshared.com.

For more information about the event visit www.revWV.com or email David Rosen at
rosend@gmail.com.

5.07.2012

This is a very strange blog post for me, but I wanted to put this out there to see what your response is to it. This weekend I watched this whole documentary about manufacturing in the U.S by PBS. It was called America Revealed. So this documentary had great stats they were throwing out there about America and manufacturing (U.S. is the largest manufacturer in the world by far. We manufacturer more now then we have ever in the history of America.) The images they kept playing on the TV were of people watching robots manufacture. How great is that! We can do a lot more now because of our innovation as a humans. I was so pumped after watching that show that it reaffirmed that we as Americans are Great! We are great! We are the leading innovators in the world.

So all weekend I was thinking about America Revealed and how manufacturing effects us. Then on the way to work this morning while listening to Morning Joe on MSNBC I began to worry. Who owns these robots? Who should own these robots? What if I could buy a robot to do my job? How do robots fit into a capitalist society in 2040, 2100, 2200? How do robots fit into a socialist society in 2040, 2100, 2200?

I consider myself a capitalist. I love competition, I love working hard and reaping the rewards. But, this whole thought process had me thinking. What if we as humans could have robots do most of our work, or all of our work for that matter? If they were owned by the people as a whole, and all of us could benefit and relax we could then work on more innovative ideas furthering human kind. Would we be better off that way? Or would we be better off having a few of us owning the robots, while the rest of us have no reason to exist other than to serve those that own the robots? If it is the second, would we tax the owners of the robots to try to give a minimum quality of life to the rest? What reason would those few owners have to further human kind at the point they have full power?

At some point when we can afford to provide a high quality of life for all, we must transition to a socialist type of system. I do not think this point is now. I think we can not afford to provide everyone a high quality of life. I think our government is there to to make sure that we progress towards that point as we as a society become more and more wealthy. OK, that is my completely random sci-fi/politics induced thought of the day. I would love to know your thoughts on this! Please post a comment and let me know how off base I am.

2.14.2012

I have spoken with younger and older artists about creative humps and the frustration that it brings. I have always asked them how they deal with it and how they surge past it. I am a digital photographer but I love painting and drawing but struggle to accomplish what I can accomplish with my photography. I feel Ira Glass truly sums it up here. I want to thank Josh Stella for posting it this morning. :)

From Ira Glass . . .

“What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me . . . is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”